Former RCMP intelligence official handed 14-year prison sentence for disclosing ‘classified’ information

A former RCMP intelligence officer breached Canada’s secrets law and must now serve 14 years in prison, according to an Ontario Superior Court judge.

Cameron Jay Ortis, 51, pleaded guilty in November for three counts of violating the Security of Information Act in a case Justice Robert Maranger said is without precedent. 

Formerly of the RCMP, Ortis collected classified information on terror cells, cyber criminals and global criminal networks as part of the agency’s Operations Research group, reported The Canadian Press.

The guilty verdict revolved on the disclosure of information to three persons of interest in 2015 and attempting to do so a fourth time. The latter led to a guilty verdict on one count of attempting to violate the Act.

Justice Maranger, who delivered the sentence Wednesday morning, credited Ortis with time spent in custody. He must serve another seven years and 155 days in prison.

A jury of peers has found former RCMP intelligence officer Cameron Ortis guilty on three counts of breaching Canada’s secrets law.

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— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) November 24, 2023

In his decision, the judge referred to Ortis as “somewhat of an enigma.”

Despite possible financial incentives for disclosing state secrets, he says “there was no tangible evidence of a motive for what Cameron Ortis did.” 

“He was never paid anything by anyone,” clarified Justice Maranger, who articulated the defendant operated in a position of “extreme trust” at the RCMP.

Among the disclosures include the identity of an undercover officer, which he said, “put lives at risk.” 

Canada’s reputation “may never be the same” among the Five Eyes intelligence alliance, having “undermined Canada’s reputation in the intelligence community,” continued Justice Maranger.

Cameron Ortis, a former high-ranking official with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), is under investigation for allegedly stealing and processing highly classified intelligence documents from the United States, potentially valuable to Beijing.https://t.co/P2T3wrfiNe

— Rebel News Canada (@RebelNews_CA) December 1, 2023

This is a developing story.